"You know if you had to get into pink slippers every night, you'd make an awful fuss," the practical Fred declared. "I'm glad my mother has some sense."
"Thank you," laughed Mrs. Williamson. "And now let's wander back to our comfortable, old-fashioned house and see about settling down for a good rest."
The house had been thoroughly aired and all the bedding, and it did not take the three mothers long to have the beds made up. There was a shabby old barn at the end of the lot which served as a garage, and the cars had been run in there. The house was three stories high, but there was only one room on the third floor—a large room that had a balcony in front of one of the windows. Indeed, as Polly said, whenever they didn't know what to do, they built a balcony. Some were almost porches and others were little more than platforms, but nearly every window had its balcony. The large room in the third story, it was decided, should be given over to the boys. Three cots were put up there, and Fred and Artie and Ward were delighted.
"What's the bell for?" asked Fred, pointing to a black iron bell in one corner over the door.
"I suppose it connects with the kitchen, and if we had a maid it would be a signal for her," Mr. Williamson said. "We'll use it to let you know when breakfast is ready. One ring will be the rising bell; two, a summons to breakfast; three will mean that if you don't hurry you'll get nothing to eat; and four rings will tell you that all is over—we have eaten everything up."
There were four large square bedrooms on the second floor, and the one allotted to the three girls had two balconies, one of them directly under the third story balcony. Polly said they could sit out and listen to the ocean, but Margy was sure that some one would hear them and come to say they must go to bed.
"They won't hear us listen," argued Polly. "Of course I don't mean to-night, for we'd go to sleep sitting up. But some night we can sit out here, if we don't get to giggling."
However, no one felt like listening to the ocean that night. They were all tired from the long drive, and Polly's cheeks were burning from the wind. Within half an hour the whole house was dark and silent, and though the breakers came in and ran out ceaselessly and the tide turned, rose and turned again, not a person in Meeker's Cottage paid the slightest attention.
Polly was awake before Jess or Margy, and she dressed very quietly. When she was ready, she stepped out on the balcony to get a glimpse of the ocean, sparkling in the sun.
"Um, um, isn't that good!" she whispered, taking a long breath of the salty air. "I'm so glad we came to the beach—it is nicer even than Lake Bassing."